Taking Dayton by storm this Saturday, Gem Fest will be host to 12 killer local acts performing at The Old Yellow Cab building in downtown Dayton for a great cause! From rock to punk and singer-songwriters to EDM, Gem Fest is an all-local showcase of the Dayton scene and and will be an experience like no other!
GemFest is a day of art and music to benefit GLSEN Greater Dayton and to combat bullying of LGBT youth in our schools!
- The morning youth event runs from 10am to 2pm and will feature artists, speakers, and live music from Kyleen Downes, Georgia Goad & Jill Dodson, and the INCREDIBLE ThunderTaker!
- If art is more your thing, you won’t be disappointed. We’ll have the artwork of some of Dayton’s best artists, which includes artwork by the kids this show will benefit.
- Starting at around 2pm and continuing until well after dark, an awesome spread of blues, rock, punk and more will take center stage! The lineup includes: A Shade Of Red (alt rock), Jasper The Colossal (pop punk), Death By Fetish (punk alt rock), Far From Eden (progressive rock), Skurt (punk, experimental Hen rock), Evil Eye Gypsy (blues, progressive, acid rock), Duderus (punk, hardcore, nerdcore), McGuff & The Dumpster Fires (punk, funk, blues rock), Thundertaker (rock), Kyleen Downes (singer-songwriter), Team Void (Lucha rock and roll), and special guest, En [P] De (hard house, EDM), will also be spinning throughout the day.
Get to know a few of the Gem Fest artists better:
* Far From Eden review by Mike Emmons & VIDEO
* McGuff and the Dumpster Fires review by Mike Emmons & VIDEO
* A Shade of Red review by Mike Emmons & VIDEO
* En(p)de VIDEO
* Team VOID VIDEO
* ThunderTaker VIDEO
* Duderus VIDEO
* Skurt VIDEO
* Kyleen Downes VIDEO
* Death By Fetish VIDEO
“Gender issues in schools have captured national attention, and some of that attention has been focused on schools in our area. GLSEN Greater Dayton has been at the forefront of the battle to help look after the well being of ALL of the students in these schools. Even with all of the progress made over the last couple of years, there are still kids who are being harassed and bullied because of their sexual or gender identity.
Musicians For Unity supports GLSEN’s efforts to help these kids, and that support is going to come from funds raised at this year’s GemFest on October 3rd!”
Musicians For Unity
The folks behind this awesome collaboration are Musicians For Unity, “a community of Dayton area musicians whose goal is to help build bridges between the many diverse social groups in the greater Dayton area.” This is a new organization in the Dayton area, and Gem Fest is their first major event under the MFU banner. Don’t let that fool you though! A seasoned musician usually has a solid idea of how to put on a show, and all the MFU members are true professionals pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into this event! Check them out on Facebook! Like their page, and if you’re a local musician, contact them and get involved!
* GemFest will be the official close to Ally Week, a national dialogue about how everyone — in and out of school — can work to become better allies to LGBT youth.
Music Connection Dayton 